Medically reviewed by Ayanna Lewis, M.D.
Getting screened is the easiest way to decrease your danger of colon most cancers, a illness that impacts 1 in 25 women and is the second-leading cause of most cancers demise in ladies below 50.
The excellent news — notably for individuals who actually dread the thought of a colonoscopy — is that there are various strategies of screening for colon most cancers, and a few of them will be finished from the consolation of your personal dwelling. However with all of the testing choices accessible, how have you learnt which one to decide on?
Understanding the various kinds of colon most cancers screening could assist you determine which one is greatest for you.
Why is colon most cancers screening so vital?
Colon most cancers usually takes about 10 years to develop. For most individuals, it begins when a gene mutation impacts one of many cells that line your colon. This mutated cell divides and grows, forming a clump of cells known as a polyp.
Whereas many polyps are benign (non-cancerous), some could finally flip into most cancers. Screening helps to seek out polyps earlier than they’ve an opportunity to turn into cancerous.
It could possibly additionally spot most cancers that has already began within the early phases, when it’s simpler to deal with. The 5-year survival rate of individuals with early stage colorectal most cancers is round 90% however drops to round 13% if the most cancers has unfold to different components of the physique.
The present recommendation is that folks with a median danger of colon most cancers begin screening at age 45.
Are some teams at larger danger?
In response to the American Cancer Society, Black folks in the US are 20% extra more likely to get colorectal most cancers — and 40% extra more likely to die from it — than different racial teams. Genetic variations, life-style elements and environmental elements account for a few of the disparity, however different causes embody lack of entry to healthcare and the dearth of means to pay for healthcare.
Consultants are working to assist shut this hole, organizing community-based efforts, such because the Colorectal Cancer Screening Intervention Program (CCSIP) to boost consciousness and make screening extra accessible.
What’s a colonoscopy, anyway?
A colonoscopy is an outpatient process the place a health care provider makes use of a tiny video digicam connected to an extended, versatile tube to verify the colon for most cancers, in addition to polyps and different crimson flags, reminiscent of irritated tissue.
The tube is inserted into the rectum whereas the affected person is sedated, and there’s no ache throughout or after the process.
A significant advantage of the colonoscopy is that docs don’t simply search for doubtlessly problematic polyps — they will additionally take away them. And in case your outcomes are regular, you received’t want one other colonoscopy for 10 years. This is the reason colonoscopy is taken into account the “gold normal” for colon most cancers detection.
A colonoscopy comes with the identical small risks (reminiscent of bleeding and an infection) as any medical process, however the advantages outweigh the potential hurt for many sufferers.
What are the opposite screening choices for colon most cancers?
There are a number of completely different screening choices that contain utilizing an at-home check equipment that search for indicators of most cancers.
- The guaiac-based fecal occult blood check (gFOBT) makes use of a chemical known as guaiac to seek out blood within the stool. You get a check equipment out of your physician and use it at dwelling to gather a pattern that’s examined in a lab. This check is finished every year.
- The fecal immunochemical check (FIT) makes use of antibodies as an alternative of guaiac to detect blood within the stool, however in any other case it’s the identical because the gFOBT.
- The FIT-DNA check, reminiscent of Cologuard, (also referred to as the stool DNA check) is the FIT plus one other check that checks for modified DNA within the stool. For this check, a whole bowel motion is collected at dwelling and despatched to a lab. It’s finished no less than each three years.
Blood-based exams for colon most cancers, reminiscent of Defend, are newer choices that can be utilized by folks of common danger.
An alternative choice is a versatile sigmoidoscopy, which is basically a restricted colonoscopy that solely checks the rectum and decrease third of the colon for polyps or most cancers. It’s finished each 5 years.
A process known as a computed tomography (CT) colonoscopy (or digital colonoscopy) makes use of a CT scan to take photos of the colon, making it much less invasive than the normal colonoscopy. It’s finished each 5 years.
It’s vital to notice that if any of those screenings come again optimistic or irregular, you’ll want a standard colonoscopy.
However for individuals who’d simply as quickly keep away from a colonoscopy — or are having a tough time getting an appointment due to a backlog — these screenings are a lot higher than nothing.
Which colon most cancers screening possibility is greatest?
Very like train, the “greatest” colon most cancers screening is the one you’ll truly do. You’ll must take your private well being and insurance coverage state of affairs into consideration, so it’s a good suggestion to speak via your choices with a healthcare supplier.
If price is a priority, the Colorectal Cancer Alliance and Colonoscopy Assist might help you discover free or low-cost screenings close to you.
This instructional useful resource was created with assist from Daiichi Sankyo.
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